A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VERBS OF EXPERIENCE Ibibio IN AND FRENCH: EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

This paper deals with two languages: the Ibibio and French. The Ibibio is spoken as the language of the Ibibio ethnic group inhabiting the state of Akwa Ibom, located in south eastern Nigeria. Nigeria is bordered on all sides by French-speaking countries, except in the south where it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The student Ibibio being aware that French was declared the second official language of Nigeria since 1996 realizes the need for proficiency in French, especially by the younger generation. Itis by means of language that one can think, speak and describe actions, events, experiences and attributes. And one speaks in all languages by sentences.In the center of each sentence the verb moves around which all other components. That is why we propose to sketch a contrastive analysis of an aspect of French and Ibibio verb systems: namely verbs of experience, to expose the similarities and differences between the two languages and thus to identify problems facing the learner of French Ibibio. The theoretical model of Fillmore (1968, 1971) suits us better for this study. We will make some recommendations to teachers of French and conclude that the French language proficiency as a springboard for unity greatly desired, not only between Nigeria and the sub region of West Africa but the world has become a Village by the force of progress in the areas of technology, information and communication.